Wynn Satterlee v. Hugh Wolfenbarger

453 F.3d 362, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 16447, 2006 WL 1788981
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJune 30, 2006
Docket05-2013, 05-2513
StatusPublished
Cited by122 cases

This text of 453 F.3d 362 (Wynn Satterlee v. Hugh Wolfenbarger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wynn Satterlee v. Hugh Wolfenbarger, 453 F.3d 362, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 16447, 2006 WL 1788981 (6th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge.

These consolidated appeals concern the grant of habeas relief to Petitioner-Appellee Wynn Satterlee, a Michigan state prisoner who was convicted by jury and *364 sentenced after his trial counsel failed to inform him of a favorable plea offer. The district court initially granted a conditional writ, ordering the state to reinstate the plea offer that Satterlee never received. When the state failed to comply, the district court granted an unconditional writ, ordering Satteriee’s immediate release and the expungement of his record of conviction.

In No. 05-2013, the state challenges the judgment granting the conditional writ, arguing that Satterlee failed to exhaust state-court remedies and that the district court made a clearly erroneous factual finding. Because the state’s arguments are without merit, we AFFIRM.

In No. 05-2513, the state challenges the judgment granting the unconditional writ, arguing that the remedies of immediate release and expungement exceeded the district court’s power. Because the state’s arguments are once again without merit, we AFFIRM, albeit with instructions to clarify an ambiguity in the unconditional writ, which is discussed below. We REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

Satterlee was convicted by a Michigan jury of conspiring to deliver more than 650 grams of cocaine and was sentenced to twenty to thirty years’ imprisonment. Satterlee appealed on grounds not relevant here. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal. People v. Satterlee, No. 217262, 2000 WL 33521090 (Mich. CtApp. Mar.28, 2000); People v. Satterlee, 462 Mich. 902, 659 N.W.2d 227 (2000) (table decision).

Satterlee moved for relief from judgment pursuant to Michigan Court Rule 6.502, arguing, inter alia, that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), and Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985), when his trial attorney, David Dodge, failed to relay to Satterlee a favorable plea offer that he would have accepted. The state trial court denied relief, and both the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal. Joint Appendix (“J.A.”) at 93 (Circuit Court decision); 1 J.A. at 199 (Court of Appeals decision); People v. Satterlee, 468 Mich. 894, 661 N.W.2d 241 (2003) (table decision).

Satterlee filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court conducted an evidentiary hearing, where Dodge, John Cipriani (the state prosecutor in Satteriee’s case), Satterlee, and Margaret Satterlee (Satteriee’s mother) testified. Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger (Satterlee I), 374 F.Supp.2d 562, 570-74 (E.D.Mich.2005) (ordering an evidentiary hearing); J.A. at 270-385 (Evid. Hr’g Tr.). The district court made two findings of fact: (1) “the prosecutor made a plea offer on the day of trial to allow petitioner to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of six to twenty years”; and (2) “the plea offer of six to twenty years was never communicated to petitioner by his attorney David Dodge.” Satterlee I, 374 F.Supp.2d at 568-69. These factual findings were based largely on the determination that Satterlee, his mother, and Cipriani were more credible than Dodge. Id.

The district court concluded that “there is a reasonable probability that petitioner would have accepted the plea offer that *365 was made in this case.” Relying on our decision in Griffin v. United States, 330 F.3d 733 (6th Cir.2003), which had in turn relied on Strickland and Hill, the district court granted a conditional writ based on Satterlee’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel (“IAC”) claim. Id. at 567, 569. The district court gave the state sixty days to reinstate the six-to-twenty-year plea offer. Id. at 569-70. The state appeals this order in No. 05-2013, arguing that Satterlee failed to exhaust state-court remedies and that the district court made a clearly erroneous factual finding.

When the conditional writ’s sixty-day deadline passed, Satterlee applied for his immediate release, to which the state responded by filing a motion in the district court for a stay pending its appeal in No. 05-2013. The district court denied the state’s motion for stay and granted Satterlee an unconditional writ, ordering his immediate release and the expungement of the record of his conviction. Satterlee v. Wolfenbarger (Satterlee II), No. Civ. 03-71682-DT, 2005 WL 2704877 (E.D.Mich. Oct.19, 2005). The state appeals this order in No. 05-2513, arguing that the remedies of immediate release and expungement exceeded the district court’s power.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

In a habeas proceeding, we review de novo the district court’s legal conclusions, including its ultimate decision to grant or deny the writ, and we review for clear error its factual findings. Burton v. Renico, 391 F.3d 764, 770 (6th Cir.2004), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 126 S.Ct. 353, 163 L.Ed.2d 62 (2005); Sawyer v. Hofbauer, 299 F.3d 605, 608 (6th Cir.2002).

III. THE CONDITIONAL WRIT (No. 05-2013)

A. Exhaustion/Fair Presentment

The state first argues that Satterlee did not satisfy the exhaustion requirement. A writ of habeas corpus may not be granted unless the petitioner has exhausted available state-court remedies. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1). In order to satisfy the exhaustion requirement, “a petitioner’s claim must be ‘fairly presented’ to the state courts before seeking relief in the federal courts.” Whiting v. Burt, 395 F.3d 602, 612 (6th Cir.2005) (citing Baldwin v. Reese, 541 U.S. 27, 29, 124 S.Ct. 1347, 158 L.Ed.2d 64 (2004); Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 275, 92 S.Ct. 509, 30 L.Ed.2d 438 (1971)). “It is sufficient if ‘the substance of a federal habeas corpus claim’ be presented to the state courts, and there are instances in which ‘the ultimate question for disposition’ will be the same despite variations in the legal theory or factual allegations urged in its support.” Id. at 612-13 (quoting Picard, 404 U.S. at 277-78, 92 S.Ct. 509). Whether a habeas petitioner has satisfied the exhaustion requirement is a question of law that we review de novo. E.g., Morris v. Dretke, 413 F.3d 484, 491 (5th Cir.2005); Stevens v. Delaware Corr. Ctr., 295 F.3d 361, 368 (3d Cir.2002); Greene v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

MORGAN v. ODDO
W.D. Pennsylvania, 2025
(PC) McPherson v. Warden
E.D. California, 2025
David Smith v. Cynthia Davis
Sixth Circuit, 2025
NELLOM v. KRASNER
E.D. Pennsylvania, 2024
Walker v. Searls
W.D. New York, 2024
Tucker v. Searls
W.D. New York, 2022
Jimmy Baugh v. Noah Nagy
Sixth Circuit, 2022
Forbes v. Garland
W.D. New York, 2021
Daniel Pirkel v. DeWayne Burton
970 F.3d 684 (Sixth Circuit, 2020)
Santos Abreu v. Barr
W.D. New York, 2020
De La Rosa v. Barr
W.D. New York, 2020
HASKELL v. FOLINO
W.D. Pennsylvania, 2020
Linda Stermer v. Millicent Warren
959 F.3d 704 (Sixth Circuit, 2020)
Massingue v. Barr
D. Massachusetts, 2020
Johnson v. Barr
W.D. New York, 2019
Dorval v. Barr
W.D. New York, 2019
Hechavarria v. Whitaker
358 F. Supp. 3d 227 (W.D. New York, 2019)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
453 F.3d 362, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 16447, 2006 WL 1788981, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wynn-satterlee-v-hugh-wolfenbarger-ca6-2006.